MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. -- Marines from 8th Communications Battalion, II Marine Expeditionary Force, detached from the creature comforts of French Creek here to spend seven days testing out a new communications plan.
The seven-day excursion to Landing Zone Parrot served as a proving ground for communication commanders to evaluate mission capability with a smaller, yet more efficient group of support Marines.
Capt. Eric L. Dixon, detachment commander for the evolution, explained the idea for a communications detachment was inspired by the unit’s recent deployment to Iraq.
“Based on an estimated future mission, our goal is to take all the agencies we’ll need in the field and try to save on personnel by consolidating our efforts,” he said. “Doing this streamlines our communication and keeps everyone on the same page.”
More than 300 Marines in the brush for a week may seem like a massive movement, but the ”det” concept tested here mixes all necessary elements to accomplish a mission normally completed by 400-500 individuals, according to Dixon.
“This exercise validates we don’t need as many people who do the same thing,” he said.
Instead of deploying with several complete battalions , 8th Comm borrowed bits and pieces from several companies to get the right combination of service and support to form a compact version of a Marine Air/Ground Task Force.
2nd Lt. Paul A. Brillant, a 34-year-old transmission platoon commander from Scottsville, N.Y., spoke in favor of the detachment concept.
“It’s easier to depend on organizations and units for support power,” he said, noting that consistently working with the same gear and people can increase a unit’s capabilities and productivity.
“We have support elements to keep our gear online and organics to keep systems and communication at a smaller level,” he said.
Brillant also pointed out that the concept is designed to accomplish a mission while keeping unnecessary bodies from deploying to the field. This mode of operation may mean the ones who go are required to exert extra effort.
“These guys are working really hard,” he said.
According to Brillant, it is an example of “a tight group getting even tighter.”
Cpl. Mario Molinaportillo, 22, a native of San Diego, returned from Iraq only a few months ago, and has memories of real-world scenarios fresh in his memory. As an experienced mobile multi-channel equipment operator, he used the excursion to pass his know-how to less experienced Marines.
“We’ve never come to this site before,” he said, adding that though his team was new to the location, they experienced few technical issues.
“This is good training for junior Marines,” he added.
According to Gunnery Sgt. Bruce A. Smith, assistant operations chief for company B, doing more with less was the main objective of the week, but field exercises are designed to emphasize more than one job skill.
“We try to keep concurrent training constant,” said Smith. “We have classes on the maintenance of our equipment, (Marine Corps Martial Arts Program), and we maintain a (Physical Training) schedule, which can include group or individual runs.”
The seven-day process of establishing a camp, setting up gear and maintaining worldwide communications via satellite, radio and internet will enable evaluators to revamp and update deployment plans to suit the modern battlefield, said Smith.
Imparting knowledge in a field environment is a tradition that keeps the Marine Corps ready to fight the War on Terrorism.